Final Reflection of EDU 782 - Tech in STEAM

EDU 782 - Technology in STEAM has taught me so much about what STEAM is, what it looks like, the different components to STEAM, and how everything comes together.

• In your opinion, what is the most difficult aspect of incorporating technology into a STEAM classroom? Why is that particular aspect so difficult to overcome?
• The most difficult aspect of incorporating technology into a STEAM classroom is the age and skill level of the students. It is difficult to overcome this because younger students generally have a harder time utilizing technology and understanding how to use various programs. Some programs or technology require the user to use two hands to click and drag or press multiple buttons at the same time; for students like mine who are in first grade it is difficult for them to master since they are still learning how to use a computer and strengthen the muscles in their hands to be able to properly handle the keys on the keyboard. Additionally, some young students take longer to retain technology skills and have yet to remember how to make a capital letter or how to click and drag with two hands on a Chromebook. Thus, for myself and other teachers who work with younger students, it can be difficult to incorporate certain types of technology or specific programs.

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• Having seen a couple more resources since your previous blog, is there another resource that you learned about that you might be willing to try in your own classroom? If so, which one and why?
• One resource that I would be willing to try in my classroom is ThingLink. I love the idea of turning photos or videos into interactive links with information to be learned. I would love to try this resource out and create an interactive field trip for students. Many times we cannot go on field trips due to cost or distance of the place. However, with the help of ThingLink, I could design an interactive field trip for students that centers on the current leading question of the STEAM unit with virtually no cost. (*Note: I say virtually no cost because this resource does have a free trial but does cost money when the trial ends.)

• Which letter of the STEAM acronym do you think you have learned the most about during this course? What have you learned?
• The letter of STEAM I have learned most about is A - Art. I have learned that art is a strong part of STEAM in the sense that art can easily be integrated into the other subject areas in many ways. As Quigley and Herro (2019) put it, art includes an array of creative activities and pieces such as "visual, performance, ELA, social studies, media arts, and creative writing." Never would I have thought that social studies or ELA would be considered an art, but I do see that many people may struggle to see how these areas fit into STEAM. However, I can see with ELA students could read a variety of texts and use the ones that inspire them.
• Having discovered the various parts of art in STEAM, I incorporated visual, media, and creative writing into my lessons for the final STEAM project. Students would make drawings, creative buildings, and digital presentations. Overall, art adds a considerable amount of support to the STEAM team.

• Which letter of the STEAM acronym do you think you will have the most trouble integrating into your next STEAM activity? Why?
• The letter of STEAM I think would be most troublesome to incorporate into my next STEAM activity would be a tie between S-science and E-engineering. I say both S and E because for these subject areas I would want to incorporate more hands-on activities (i.e. building, making, or experimenting). However, a problem I run into is TIME.

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• First graders tend to take more time to process, plan, and build things. As Quigley & Herro (2019) mentioned, one big challenge to STEAM is the pacing issues and time management because activities take longer than anticipated since instruction is more student-led and there are more projects. I find that with 6 and 7 year old's, a whole day would need to be devoted to a STEAM lesson or activity especially if it involved research,, writing, and/or building; more processing or wait time is needed to comprehend and answer questions, more time is needed to navigate technology, and additional time is generally needed for building (beyond what is expected) as these students are learning how to do things for the first time.

• After earning your Technology Specialist endorsement through this program, what might you propose to your school administration in the area of STEAM improvement?
• This last question does not completely pertain to me as I am not completing the full technology endorsement program. I am taking this and other technology courses to not only complete my masters in education, but to add to my technology skills as a teacher and to see how other aspects of technology and STEAM fit into my district's current interdisciplinary curriculum.
• Now regardless of whether I am getting the tech endorsement or not, what I would propose to my school administration is that they look to restructure our interdisciplinary units to align with STEAM by centering the instruction around current events and issues impacting us directly.

Overall, I have learned so much throughout EDU 782 and I will continue to ask questions and make changes to my own classroom to include more STEAM centered activities and units.



Thanks for learning & listening!

MH



Reference

Quigley, C., & Herro, D. (2019). An educator's guide to steam: Engaging students using real-world problems. Kindle. Teachers College Press. Retrieved 2022, from https://read.amazon.com/kindle-library?ref_=kcr_library.